Adam Shulman Sextet

A San Francisco native, Shulman studied music at UC Santa Cruz and soaked up bandstand wisdom from the late, beloved piano master Smith Dobson and work with Stefon Harris, Miguel Zenón, Luciana Souza, Paula West, Larry Coryell, Mark Murphy, and Bobby Hutcherson. He moved back to the city in 2002 and before long carved out a career as an essential sideman. It wasn’t until his impressive 2007 debut album On Second Thought with saxophonist Dayna Stephens, bassist John Wiitala and drummer John Arkin that Shulman revealed an expert gift for writing arresting melodies. Trumpeter Mike Olmos joined the proceedings on the 2009’s Patterns of Change, an album that captured Shulman’s growing authority as a post-bop stylist inspired by Bill Evans. He delved into the endlessly enthralling world of Billy Strayhorn on 2010’s Strays, a quintet session with trumpeter Erik Jekabson and saxophonist Patrick Wolff. Full Tilt showcases the chemistry of Shulman, Olmos, Wolff, and Wiitala, supplemented by Washington D.C. based saxophonist Lyle Link and drummer Evan Hughes.